Austria Lifts Veto, Paves Way for Romania and Bulgaria to Join Schengen
Austria has lifted its veto and cleared the way for two EU member states to join Schengen. On Friday in Budapest, the interior ministers of Austria, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary agreed on a new border security package to set the course for the two Balkan countries to join the Schengen area in January, FAZ reports.
The border protection package stipulates that the participating countries will send a joint contingent of hundreds of border guards to the Bulgarian-Turkish border.
Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) spoke of ‘another important step towards coordination’ at the EU Interior Ministerial in December. A decision will not be made until December, ‘let's cross the bridge when we are there,’ Karner said.
He noted that there should be border controls between Bulgaria and Romania for a certain period of time.
Romanian Interior Minister Catalin Predoi said at a joint press conference that Austria no longer exercised its veto. He is confident that Romania will be able to join Schengen by the end of the year.
Hungary's Interior Minister and acting Council President Sandor Pinter also said that Bulgaria and Romania could fully join Schengen in January.
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ilva Johansson expressed hope that both countries would join Schengen in January. Both countries met the necessary criteria. Johansson called the meeting in Budapest ‘very successful’.
Over the previous two years, Austria had blocked Romania and Bulgaria from joining the borderless zone. Austria argued that the EU's asylum system and border regime were not working. A system that does not work should not be expanded. However, Austria refrained from blocking Croatia's accession to Schengen, which would have been unpopular because of the importance of this Adriatic country as a popular holiday destination for Austrians. Suspicion was raised, not least in the affected countries of Romania and Bulgaria, that the blockade of Schengen was primarily for domestic political reasons.